Head Over Heels
by RibaBian
Summary: Tsuna makes a decision for the sake of his Lightening Guardian, but may end up making the problem worse. Especially when Reborn in involved. RL REBORNXLAMBO! TYL! - may have some very slight spoilers for the manga, not much :) -
1. Chapter 1

Tsuna rested his chin on his folded hands as he leaned over his desk, warily eying his former tutor.

"You wanted me, No-Good_ Vongola_?" The statuesque man gave him a mock bow as Gokudera shut the door to Tsuna's office behind him; then promptly returned to stand beside his boss.

"I heard you paid a visit to the Lombardi Family recently? There was blood." Tsuna gave him a disapproving look, though it went ignored.

"One of their hitmen took it upon himself to try to kill me. It would have been an affront to my name if I had someone from such a lowly Family get away." Reborn smirked. "Now what did you really call me here for?"

Tsuna sighed, stilling his nerves, determined not to show how the hitman's piercing gaze still gave him chills. He was the Neo Vongola Primo, and, as much as he had never wanted the position, he had a certain persona to uphold, if not for himself, then for the sake of his Famiglia. As much as he hated to admit it Reborn could still see through him easily. He could only hope that his Super Intuition would benefit him just slightly here.

"I'm going to be straight to the point: I don't want you to associate with Lambo anymore." Tsuna forced out, face as straight as he could make it in the face of Reborn's intimidation. As much as he had perfected a fairly intimidating façade over the years he still felt like the same 14-year-old No-Good Tsuna he had been ten years ago when faced with his old tutor.

Reborn's brow was raised slightly under the shadow of his fedora. "What does that stupid cow have to do with this?"

"Lambo is one of my guardians; he is important to me. You are important to me too Reborn, but right now I need to think about what is best for him. Lambo is at a sensitive age right now, with everything that has happened over the past ten years he never got the chance to slow down and grow up outside of this mafia business. I know I can't give that back to him…" A sad, wistful look passed across the young boss's face.

Gokudera set a hand on Tsuna's shoulder. "It's not you're fault, Tenth! That dumb c- I mean, Lambo should be happy to be able to work at the side of such a magnificent boss!"

Tsuna gave his right-hand man an awkward smile before returning his stern face to Reborn.

"I just don't think you are good for him right now." Tsuna continued. "He's shown an obsession with you in the past and I don't want him get so absorbed with that hitman stuff again."

"You're right, he would make an awful hitman."

"Reborn!"

Said man waved him off. "Who would have thought that No-Good Tsuna would be giving me demands?" Reborn asked, though that face he was making suggested that he knew it. He was never surprised by how things turned out, as if he knew everything that had been and would be behind those dark eyes.

Tsuna shook his head, suddenly feeling worn out. "Please…? Reborn, _please_?"

"All you have to do is say so, Vongola."

_If it were that easy I wouldn't be here right now. _Tsuna thought, exasperatedly.

"It doesn't matter to me what that stupid cow does anyway." Reborn turned towards the door to leave. "If you don't want anything else then, I'll be taking my leave."

Tsuna smiled, lightly. "Thank you, Reborn."

Though he was turned away, Tsuna could practically feel the man's foreboding expression as he added. "Let's both hope that you've made the right decision for your subordinate."

With that he was gone.

Tsuna groaned and leaned his head against the back of his chair. "Even with this intuition he always seems to know more than me."

Tsuna nearly jumped when he felt a pair of hands grab him, then remembered his right-hand man. He felt a little bad about forgetting Gokudera was there, but he soon forgot it as skillful thumbs dug into the tense muscles beneath his suit. "Ah."

"If the Tenth can't figure out Reborn then absolutely no one can."

"You have entirely too much faith in me, Gokudera-kun."

Gokudera immediately jumped into a rant about every reason Tsuna was the most amazing boss in all the mafia, but the man wasn't paying enough attention at this point to notice.

Suddenly he was very worried for his lightening guardian's future.

/

"…bo-kun…Lambo-kun…LAMBO!"

Lambo jumped slightly in his chair and then directed his attention back towards his tutor.

"I'm taking time out from building the Family's defense to teach you, at least pay attention." Shouichi scolded him, though it sounded more whiny than stern.

Lambo didn't blame him though; he didn't want to be doing this any more than Shouichi did. He would much rather be given important missions like the other guardians, or at least be allowed to accompany Tsuna to meet with the bosses of other Famiglia, but Tsuna was persistent in him continuing his education for the time being. Somehow Shouichi had gotten stuck with the job, probably because of his smarts and the fact that most of his work took place around the base as it was.

The Vongola was surprisingly strict with his subordinates when he made up his mind about something.

"Yare yare, maybe I would pay attention if you taught me something more interesting." Lambo gave an exaggerated yawn, as if to punctuate the statement.

Shouichi shook his head, though he grinned slightly. "How about we leave off here for today?"

Lambo nodded, though he wasn't exactly sure where they had left off. Shouichi had a habit of rambling and it made it easy to doze off for long periods of time.

The redhead packed up some of his books, spinning to give Lambo a curt wave before skipping out of his room with a grin on his face, undoubtedly going to see what Spanner or Giannini was up to. _Those guys are entirely too obsessed whatever weird computer stuff they do down there._

Lambo's stomach growled not a minute later not that it was a surprise. The boy was always hungry and since he had skipped breakfast that morning he was especially ravenous.

Lambo exited his room, making his way to the kitchen, down the familiar halls of the Vongola mansion. It had been an especially hard decision to decide living here. After returning from Japan nearly a year ago he had been approached by the Bovino Famiglia boss and asked whether he would return to the Bovino or stay living with the Vongola. Tsuna had told him to make the choice that made him happiest - the man was always most worried about his subordinates' happiness - but it was already too late. The decision had been made for him the second he inherited the Lightening Ring.

Lambo sniffled, holding back some tears at the memory of his old boss, his aunt Ottavio and the other Bovino._ Gotta…Stay…Calm._ He would have to go visit them one of these days.

Lambo was almost surprised when he reached the kitchen, but he was more surprised to see Reborn sitting casually at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in one hand and a newspaper in the other. The man was always coming and going as he pleased, and he had been missing from the estate for nearly a week.

"Ah, Reborn, you're back."

His greeting went ignored, not that that was unusual. Reborn was usually either ignoring him or insulting him, always letting the young man know that he was below him.

Lambo shrugged, started boiling some water for linguini, and then took a seat across from the hitman.

"Reborn."

Still ignored.

"Hey, Reborn, you stingy bastard! Don't ignore me!"

The man sat for a moment, still sipping his coffee and then began to fold his newspaper.

"Yare yare, took you long enough to- HEY!"

Reborn set his mug in the sink, tucked his newspaper under his arm and promptly left the room. There wasn't a single thing to suggest that he even noticed Lambo's existence.

Lambo pouted. Normally the man would at least give him some infuriating smirk just to punctuate his superiority, but even that was forgone.

"AH!" Lambo didn't have much time to think about it as his water began boiling up out of the pot. He quickly lifted the lid and poured in his noodles, setting a timer for himself in case he forgot again.

Lambo sighed heavily and slumped down in a chair. He let his open eye slip closed, his mind wandering back to a certain infuriating man.

_So mean…when will you stop being so mean…_


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** Thank you for READING! I really do appreciate it! I did get some awesome follows and favorites that make me SO happy! And I got a review too! YAAAY! I love them :3

Anyway, this would have been up sooner, but I had some essays to write throughout the week that took some time off so…there were a good five or six days where nothing got done, hopefully the next will be out quicker! :D

/ / /

It was three weeks until Lambo started feeling really anxious. Three weeks of Reborn not giving him a single word, not even a glance. After a week he started seeing the hitman less and less; he was never in the estate during the day and only came in during the night, slipping in like a shadow, without a noise.

It wasn't until three days after that that he was able to intercept the man while getting up for a glass of milk in the middle of the night, dressed in his favorite cow-print pajamas.

"Reborn!" Lambo called to him from down the hallway, but Reborn's gait showed no sign of stopping, not even a pause to acknowledge that he had been called out to.

"Hey!" Lambo ran after him, grabbing onto his sleeve to stop him from running away. _Ha! Let's see you ignore me now, you stingy bastard!_

"Stupid Reborn, when did you suddenly start running away? Afraid that the great Lambo might really kill you one of these days?" Lambo laughed nervously, taking on a false bravado that he hadn't felt since he'd been a little kid with pipe dreams of beating the infamous Reborn and becoming the respected boss of the Bovino Famiglia.

_Oh how things change…_

Reborn was still for a moment and Lambo flinched and closed his eyes tightly as the man turned towards him, sure that he was about to be hit. It wouldn't be the first time Reborn had employed violence against him.

"You don't get it?"

Lambo opened one eye, looking perplexed up into a dark, threatening pair. "Huh?"

Reborn sneered down at him. "I don't associate with those below me, especially a useless brat like you. Why should I have to see some stupid cow's sniveling face everyday if I don't want to? It's disgusting."

"O-oh…" His hand dropped from Reborn's sleeve, just barely stifling a sob. "I –um…"

_Gotta…Stay…Calm. _

"I can't!"

Lambo spun around, his vision blurry as he stumbled away, finally breaking into a run, forgetting all about why he had gotten out of bed in the first place and suddenly wishing he hadn't.

/

Reborn frowned as he watched the cow-print clad back of the Lightening Guardian retreat. He would surely be hearing about this from that No-Good Tsuna the minute this reached him, and it _would_ reach him.

In the end it was this or leave the Vongola estate altogether and take his eye off of the guardians. Simply not an option, especially where Tsuna was concerned. The Neo Vongola Primo insisted that the Famiglia stay together, and - much to Reborn's chagrin - that had somehow come to include him.

Reborn forced back a sigh as he heard a door slamming somewhere, undoubtedly the dumb cow. Even if it was aggravating it wasn't worth wasting his breath over. He knew that it was delaying the inevitable, but he couldn't bring himself to acknowledge that the cow's behavior might just end up having an effect on him.

_How annoying._

/The Next Morning/

Lambo awoke the next morning to a wet pillow and a sick feeling in his stomach. He felt ashamed that he had spent nearly a half hour crying into his pillow before he finally drifted to sleep simply from the sheer exhaustion of it.

_Why should I care what that stupid Reborn has to say? _

He hated to admit that he had always cared. Even when he was trying to kill Reborn as a child, more than anything, he had really just wanted his recognition. Looking for some sort of sign that he was good enough. _Good enough for what? _ _The mafia? The Vongola Famiglia?_ No. This started even before he met Tsuna and the Family and continued even after he had abandoned his hopes of becoming the boss of the Bovino Family or achieving fame as a great hitman.

_Good enough for Reborn?_

Lambo shook his head, suddenly hearing a pounding in his ears. He had already popped a few Tylenol from his dresser drawer before he realized the pounding was coming from his door and not his head.

"Yare yare, come in already!" He called out.

The door opened to reveal his somewhat irritated, redheaded tutor. "How long does it take to answer your door? We have to make up for the work you didn't finish yester-"

Shouichi suddenly shut up as he took the teenager in for a moment. His brow furrowed in an expression Lambo had witnessed the few times he'd seen the man work; the sort of expression he wore when he was tinkering with a program that he didn't quite comprehend.

"A-are you okay?" Shouichi looked uncomfortable, rubbing his belly like he did when he thought he might get a stomachache. "Your eyes are red; you look tired. Did you get enough sleep?"

Lambo nodded, but immediately regretted it. At least he could have used a lack of sleep to excuse his blotchy face and mopey demeanor, but it was too late for that. He hated to admit that he was still the crybaby he'd been when he was five, still making Vongola worry sick about him.

"Are you feeling ill or something? You should at least go see Shamal then – though he probably won't be much help. Or even…" Shouichi started ranting, one hypothesis and solution after another coming too fast-paced for Lambo to follow. Rather he didn't have the will or the energy to do so.

In the next second Shouichi had already made a decision. Lambo's wrist was grabbed and he barely had time to break out of his stupor to realize Shouichi was still rambling as he lead him from his room and down the hallway.

"…working on his medical degree, but he's coming back for spring break. He just got in early this morning, so he's probably tired though. I'm surprised you didn't go see him already; I figured you would be the most excited about him being back, but since you don't seem well I guess that's normal."

Lambo's heart pounded. "W-who?"

Shouichi stopped his stride for a moment to give him an odd look before continuing. "Fuuta. Weren't you listening?"

"F-Fuuta de la Stella?"

"Do you know another Fuuta?" The redhead asked, actually looking curious.

Lambo didn't have time to respond as Shouichi stopped again, this time in front of a room, and knocked. The teen wanted to bolt at any second, and not just because he had just noticed he was still wearing his pajamas. It wasn't that he didn't want to see Fuuta; they had practically grown up together and now the older boy was studying to be a pediatrician in America so seeing him was rare.

The problem was Fuuta was able to see right through him. He would know in a second that something was wrong. Lambo inched out of sight as the door opened.

"Oh, Shouichi-nii?" Lambo hear Fuuta's pleasantly surprised voice from behind the wall. "It's nice to see you! It's still early so the only person I've seen yet is Tsuna-nii."

Shouichi grinned. "To be honest I thought you might take a look at Lambo-kun; he seems sick."

"Ah, well, I'm only in my second year of college, so I haven't learned much yet." Fuuta answered, sheepishly. "I probably won't learn much until med school...but I can try to help. Where is he?"

Lambo had the sudden inclination to run, but hearing Fuuta's sweet, comforting voice again after so long had stopped him. Shouichi urged him into the doorframe so Fuuta could see him and the teen did his best to hide his face behind his hair.

"Yare yare, took you long enough to come home, Fuuta." Lambo forced a laugh into his voice, keeping his eyes trained to the ground.

He almost jumped when a pair of cool hands grabbed his face and turned it up, concerned eyes meeting his one open eye that desperately tried to avoid contact.

Fuuta frowned. "Oh Lambo, you've been crying all night haven't you?"

"H-he has?" Shouichi asked from behind them, honestly shocked.

Fuuta sent the redhead a reassuring smile. "It's fine, Shouichi-nii. I can keep care of it from here, okay? Thank you for letting me know."

He couldn't see him, but there was a long silence in which he was sure Shouichi hesitated before he heard the sound of the door closing. There was a long moment when Fuuta simply hugged him and pet his hair like he used to when they were little and he was upset, which was often enough. Somehow it didn't make him feel much better, as happy as he was to see him.

Fuuta left him to move his suitcase from his bed and then sat in the place where it had been.

"Come here." Fuuta patted the bed beside him and Lambo obeyed, taking a seat next to him. "Now what's wrong?"

Lambo shook his head. "You're just imagining things. Since you've been away so long you forgot that I don't cry any more, idiot." He felt like he was acting like a kid again, trying to act grown up around the adults. He had been so sure he had matured since then, but something about Reborn made him revert like that. He cursed himself for even thinking of _that _man.

_This has nothing to do with him. I won't get upset over him!_

Fuuta's frown only grew, the worry in his soft eyes increasing. "I haven't seen you look this upset since you were nine and Reborn took the ten year bazooka away."

Lambo flushed. "W-why would you bring that up? What does Reborn have to do with anything?"

Fuuta blinked. "I didn't mean to imply that he did…Did he do something to you? Is that why you're upset?"

"No! Of course not! I-" Lambo stood quickly. "I have to go!"

"Wai-!"

"I'm sorry!"

The Lightening Guardian bolted from the room as fast as he could. He felt bad about leaving Fuuta like that. He was only trying to help, but Lambo didn't want to think about the hitman right now, much less talk about him.

And God forbid if he saw him…

He barely remembered to run back to his room to throw on some clothes and freshen up before he was on his way out again. Lambo really couldn't afford another confrontation like he'd had with Fuuta, and he was sure that would happen if Tsuna or Yamamoto caught him.

He really just needed to get away from the Vongola estate right now.

/

**AN:** I swear I didn't mean for Shouichi to get so involved in this story, it just happened (maybe I'm just imagining it) DX lol, anyway, more build up, hopefully not too boring! It'll get to some good stuff eventually, but I've gotta wade through some plot first and I'm finally just getting some grip on what I wanna do to get there, so please don't abandon me! XD

Just a warning, there will almost definitely be a flashback first thing next chapter…


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: **Hey! It's the next chapter! AND MORE REVIEWS AND STUFFS :P

Also I made this: youtube watch?v=mlLP_OELWfE (add the dot, com and slash in the middle lol)

It's a RebornxLambo vid, check it out if you have the time X3

chibi-shueiri: Yes, definitely! Though it's almost more like old feelings being realized lol, idk XP

Guest: I was worried we wouldn't live so I COULD punish Reborn, lol, but he has his reasons…to be revealed…

/ / /

/Six Years Ago/

_A nine-year-old Lambo arrived in the Sawada household in a flash of pink smoke, just back from another trip to the future. Not exactly an unusual turn of events. He was constantly using the ten-year bazooka to run away from his problems, in this case that meanie Reborn._

_What was unusual was when he arrived back in his time it was to see said man, towering above him, with _his _bazooka tucked under his arm._

"_Hey! Stupid Reborn, did you forget? That belongs to Lambo, so you'd better give it back!" Lambo pouted. He was unable to hide his bazooka in his hair anymore since Mama had forced him to cut his ever-growing mess of an afro into something more tame, so he had fashioned a harness for it out of a few belts._

_Very clever if he did say so himself._

_Unfortunately his genius invention was left abandoned on the floor and the bazooka that should be in it was currently being held by his archrival, who had yet to answer him._

"_Hey! Are you going deaf? You probably should get your ears checked since your getting so old!" Lambo grinned haughtily._

_Reborn simply stared down at him, his dark eyes fixed on him, almost questioningly._

Maybe he really can't hear anymore? _Lambo thought worriedly, but he quickly pushed it aside as Reborn finally answered him._

"_You are too irresponsible to have such a powerful weapon, so I'll be keeping it from now on." The hitman stated as if it were the most obvious thing._

_Lambo glared and stomped his foot. "That's not fair! You can't do that! That's mine!"_

_Reborn sneered. "I know that. What I'm wondering is how the Bovino gave such a powerful item to such a dimwitted kid in the first place. I suppose it's to be expected of such a lowly Famiglia."_

_The child growled, though tears were already gathering in his eyes. "The Bovino are great! You can't just-!"_

"_You'll never grow up properly if you keep hiding behind this thing." Reborn looked down at him sharply for a long moment, looking almost thoughtful. "Listen to me, a whiny brat like you can barely help this Famiglia, but the least you can do is not hurt it."_

_The dam broke. _

_Tears and snot streamed down Lambo's face, as he watched the man leave without another word. _

_The boy wailed for what could have been minutes or hours, before Fuuta and Nana found him. He had no idea how long it was. Time was relative to a child, and the only thing he had to go by was the sound of his own cries. _

_There was no way for him to escape anymore and it was all he could do to forget the piercing gaze and cruel words attached to the one who had taken that away._

/Present Day/

Lambo was panting so hard he was sure he was about to cough up his lungs by the time he finally stopped running, and then it was only because he nearly crashed into someone.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Oh my God! Lambo?"

The "someone", who turned out to be a rather cute brunette girl, just threw him a wide smile. He recognized her as one of the many girls who gave him Valentine's chocolates last year, but couldn't quite remember her name, though he knew by her friends that she was a little older than him.

"The one and only." The young man gave her his best smile, flirtatiousness practically second nature to him by now. "I'm afraid I can't remember your name…I feel ashamed for forgetting such a pretty face."

The girl giggled and slapped his arm playfully. "You know, silly! It's Giovanna, duh!"

"Of course…"

Giovanna gave him a once over. "Looking so good this early in the morning must be a crime. I look like a total mess." She pouted cutely, crossing her arms behind her back to accentuate her rather well endowed chest.

She was obviously fishing, but Lambo didn't mind biting, especially today. A pretty girl like this was the perfect distraction. "If you look like a mess I can't imagine how I must look. People are probably wondering what an attractive young woman, such as yourself, is doing with a no-good mafioso like me."

Giovanna clung to his arm. "That just means you can protect me right?"

Playing on the mafia card always worked. Even when he wasn't trying, the Vongola was prominent enough for him to get recognized. It was probably a good fifty percent of the reason he was so popular, not that he minded. Lambo had always liked attention, no matter who it came from.

"Why don't you come out with me and my friends tonight? It's just us girls so it'll be good to have a strong mafia boy like you watching out for us!" The bubbly girl suggested. "How's about it? I'll pay for drinks."

Lambo prided himself on never turn down an invitation, especially not from a lady, and this was no exception. In fact, the timing couldn't be better.

"Sounds good."

"Great!" Giovanna jumped, excitedly. "Meet us at L'ubriaco at ten then. You know where that is right?"

Lambo nodded.

"What am I saying? Of course you do!"

The girl finally released him and started to bound away. Before she was out of sight she turned back towards him on her heels.

"I'll see you then! And you better not be late mister, cause I'll be real mad!" Giovanna teased, then quickly skipped out of sight into the already thick crowd of people out for the early morning rush.

Finally, it seemed his day was starting to look up.

/

Reborn knew it was going to be a bad morning when Tsuna sat across from him at the kitchen table, tapping his fingers impatiently on the polished wood. He just wanted to drink his morning espresso in peace, but that clearly wasn't going to happen until whatever lecture the Vongola had in store for him was through.

Reborn set aside the less-than-impressive report that Yamamoto had given him to read over, delivering the stats from his latest mission – honestly that man would make a brilliant hitman, but he was as dumb as a sack of rocks sometimes – and looked at his ex-student.

"That was quick. I expected at least a day until it got back to you." Reborn stated. "Did the cow run crying to you?"

Tsuna crossed his arms, looking beyond peeved at him. "Should he have?"

"Not at his age."

"Reborn!"

The hitman smirked, tipping his fedora over his eyes. "You told me not to associate with him, but you forgot to take into account that he would still associate with me. I did what had to be done."

Tsuna stared at Reborn for a long moment, his eyes narrowed.

"What is this really about?"

Reborn's grin only increased. "Well well, No-Good Tsuna, aren't you observant for someone who couldn't even recognize me without the curse?"

The Vongola boss flushed. "Th-that was a long time ago! Besides, this isn't about me…"

"How are you so sure that this is really about anything? I did what you told me to do to the best of my ability." Reborn countered.

Tsuna hesitated, looking thoughtful. "I don't know anything for sure…I just get this feeling…"

Reborn stood. "Give this to Yamamoto. Tell him to read over the notes carefully and do better next time, or else I'll have to talk to him personally." He gestured towards the report left on the table.

"W-wait!" Tsuna jumped up. "You're leaving? Just like that? You haven't told me anything!"

Reborn suddenly frowned, looking as though he were having an unpleasant thought. "I know I've taught you to interfere when something is wrong in the Famiglia, but this time there's nothing you can do. This is something Lambo will have to deal with…"

Tsuna looked surprised that Reborn had actually used Lambo's name, but even more surprised at how he had trailed off. It was unusual for the hitman to get distracted like that. He was normally focused to the point where it was nearly frustrating, speaking with conviction and honesty to the point of rudeness.

"Alright." Tsuna sighed. "I'll let it go, but only because I trust you. You've never done me wrong before."

Reborn waited for a long moment before nodding and left just as he had at their first meeting.

The one that had started this whole mess.

/ / /

OH GOD! MORE DEVELOPMENT! *cries * I'm SO sorry : ( I would have added more, to this chapter, which was the plan, but that would have complicated how I wrote next chapter, with lots of details no one cares about...

I promise that exciting stuff happen next chapter, but hopefully you like this anyway, as I said before, lot of development to get out of the way, then good stuff, then a little more development with some good stuff and hopefully more good stuff!

THANKS YOU! R&R IF YOU CAN! :D


	4. Chapter 4

So I went through a breakup two days before Christmas and then the day after Christmas I got into a car accident : (

I should get reviews or something to make me feel better…

/ / /

It was nearly two in the morning when Lambo arrived back at the Vongola mansion. He stood in front of the doors for a long moment, trying to decide which of the six knobs he should grab. It didn't help that they were moving.

Maybe he shouldn't have drunk that whole bottle of…some sort of white wine. He honestly preferred red.

Lambo groped around for a good minute before his hand finally found purchase on something metal and knob-shaped that he could pull the door open with. He stumbled in a moment later, giggling stupidly at himself.

_I must look like such and idiot. If only Stupidera could see me. He would probably call me a dumb cow, but he'd take care of me anyway just so Tsuna-nii wouldn't get mad. _He laughed at the thought.

"Stupid cow. Staying out so late, you'll worry Tsuna. Learn some self control."

Lambo grinned. _That must be him. When did he start calling the Vongola by his name?_

He stumbled in the direction of the voice, eyes too blurry to find him. He stopped when he suddenly collided with a solid chest, forehead bumping awkwardly against Gokudera's chin.

The man grunted. "Watch your head, idiot."

"Well, 'scuse me, 'Dera!" Lambo leaned his weight into him, as he was lead down the hallway. He couldn't see where they were going; his world was spinning like it never had. He had never gone out of his way to get drunk, usually just drinking a bit to loosen up, or for the flavor. Lambo closed his eyes to stop the whirling around him and simply let himself be lead.

He was pushed into a room a moment later and then another after that. He tried to open his eyes to see where he was, but closed them again to stop the dizzying feeling threatening to make him puke.

"Hold still."

The guardian nearly fell over as a set of large hands began undressing him, but luckily Gokudera caught him and pushed him into a sitting position on something cold and hard. _A toilet?_

"What er you doin' Stuuuupidera? Takin' advan-age of a drunk?" Lambo teased, his voice slurred. "Tha'sh purty low."

"Tch." The other scoffed.

_That was weird. _Normally Gokudera would be hitting him over the head by now and ranting at him about decency. _Probably should have kicked me out by now too._

Next he knew his naked body was being lifted into a pair of oddly strong arms and he was dropped into a tub of warm water. When had the bath started running? More importantly, when had he gotten naked? Right now he didn't really care. He'd been running around all day and it felt too good on his sore muscles.

_This is…nice._

He heard Gokudera shuffling around like he was looking for something. Curious, he tried to open his eyes. Every thing was too blurry for a long, scary moment before he was finally able to see what was in front of him. _Something black? And orange?_ He tried to seek out the other's face, but then realized it was hidden behind a hat…a very familiar hat.

"Hey, 'Dera! Why duh you have Reborn's hat?" Lambo laughed and made a grab for the fedora. "I'll give thish back for you!" He plucked it off his head, setting it on his own and tipping it over his closed eye.

" 'ow do I look? Do I look like Reborn? Do I look all sexy and my-ster-i-ous?" Lambo drew out the last word, finding it all very humorous.

The black eyes that met his a moment later obviously did not. The teen's stomach froze over as they stared into his own, now wide ones. His muscles tensed, and suddenly the warm water that had felt so refreshing just moments ago was too hot, or maybe that was his face.

He only snapped out of it when he felt a set of hands delicately grasp his left arm and begin scrubbing him with a washcloth from the shoulder down.

Lambo tipped his head back against the side of the tub, closing his eyes again. "F-for a second there I you looked like Reborn, but that's not possible." He forced a laugh. "Reborn would never keep care of me like this."

_I think I'm going crazy…_

He couldn't bring himself to care as gentle hands carefully scrubbed him down. He complied as he was turned this way and that so the man could reach wherever he needed. Even though he felt sick to his stomach this felt better than anything he'd felt in months.

"Yer really good. I should make you do thish all the time." Lambo rested his head in his arms as he was turned over to wash his back. Lambo felt his body getting heavy and his mind going pleasantly blank like it hadn't in weeks.

_So nice…this feels…_

/

Lambo awoke he next day feeling worse than the morning before. He groaned, sitting up slowly. He placed his head in his hands and digging his palms into his eyes. When had he put himself to bed? He shrugged, feeling around his nightstand for some painkillers. Or rather where his nightstand should have been, but instead all his hand was hitting was air.

The teen blinked a few times, taking a look around him. When his eyes adjusted he was shocked to find that he wasn't in his room at all. Lambo took a few deep breaths, trying to recall what had happened the night before.

After talking to Giovanna he remembered dropping by his favorite café for something sweet, then catching a taxi to visit a few of his aunts across town. After that he had dropped by a few stores to pick up an apology/welcome back gift for Fuuta, and finally grabbed a quick dinner before meeting up with Giovanna for drinks. The next few memories got a little hazy. He remembered a few hours of chatting with some very lovely ladies and drinks going around, before it all went blank.

"Ciaossu."

_Oh no._

Lambo could barely bring himself to look up at the man in the doorway, peering at him so smugly. "W-what are you doing here?"

"This _is _my room."

Lambo bit his tongue to stop from turning red, but couldn't stop himself from looking around the room. He'd never had the opportunity to see the hitman's room before, obviously, though he'd always been curious. The whole room was neatly kept with little decoration except a single picture on the wardrobe consisting of the Arcobaleno pre-curse.

He recognized everyone except the lovely woman holding her swollen, pregnant belly, though if her looks were anything to go by he supposed she was probably Uni's grandmother.

_I wonder if he loved her? He treats Uni so nicely. He always wants to protect her. He treats everyone nicely compared to me…_

Lambo snapped out of his thoughts and back to Reborn as the hitman's hand collided with the back of his head.

"What do you have to say for yourself?"

"W-what? I don't…"

"Remember?" Reborn chuckled. "As expected of a dumb brat who doesn't know his own limits."

Lambo glowered, rubbing the back of his head that still pulsed from the smack he'd received.

"Yare yare, no need to turn violent." The cow-clad boy complained. Accept he wasn't cow-clad. As he looked down at himself he noticed he was wearing silky, black pajamas that were just a size too big, and quite obviously not his own.

Lambo forced down a blush. There was no need to jump to conclusions. Lambo had done some very stupid things in his life, but none of them involved any strange sexual exploits, especially not with Reborn. He had never thought of Reborn that way in his life!

Lambo pushed any odd thoughts out of his head before it could show on his face. He wanted the man's recognition, not a sexual relationship. That sort of thought wasn't appealing in the least!

Not to mention it still didn't explain the pajamas.

"What am I doing in here anyway? Is this some sort of joke?"

"No. As amusing as that would be, it's not worth dirtying my own clothing over." Reborn glanced at the pajamas Lambo was wearing.

_So they _are _his…_

"Did I come in here in the middle of the night?"

It was possible. He never drank to get drunk, but he'd had his fair share with those who had and knew it wouldn't be uncommon for someone to slip into the wrong room, even the wrong clothes.

Somehow that didn't seem right. It felt like he was forgetting something.

Reborn smirked. "Why don't you try remembering for yourself?" He moved from the doorframe, taking off his fedora as he stepped into the room and setting it on his wardrobe in front of the picture of the Arcobaleno.

"Now get out. I have things to do. You can keep the nightwear, it's not important."

Lambo stepped into the doorframe, turning back to glance at Reborn, but the man's back was turned on him, making it impossible to see him or what he was doing.

"Um…Thank you?"

There was no reply, so Lambo shut the door, staring at it a moment longer, as if it would give him the answer to a question he wasn't sure how to ask.

_Why do I get the feeling I'm forgetting something important…?_

/ / /

Let me know if there are any spelling, grammar, or continuity issues. I haven't gotten the chance to read over the second half of this yet…


End file.
